4 minute read
Behind the Scenes of This Is Real : Stories Drawn with Strangers
Contributing artists pictured left to right: Bon Chan, Suzan Colón, Amy Wibowo, Sher Wouters, Al Bako and Jenna Del Vigna.
By Stephanie McGovern
In the spirit of our winter issue centered on reinvention, we were interested in learning more about the inner workings of Sarah Shaw’s process as a creative and educator but also about one particular cohort of her students from the spring 2022 semester. At the end of the 10 session course, her 11 students came together and combined their final projects into an autobiographical collection of stories. The anthology, titled This is Real: Stories Drawn with Strangers, encompasses the accounts of a mother’s attempt to cure her daughter’s eyesight and another mother’s poignant trip to a bar. It depicts life-altering music, naked breakfasts, witches and lots of cats. With a foreword written by Sarah, the anthology includes the voices of Bon Chan, Suzan Colón, Catherine Closet-Crane, Nathalie de La Gorce, Jenna Del Vigna, MP Dunleavey, Carolyn Figel, Nichole LeFebvre, Patricia Myerson, Amy Wibowo, and Sharon Wouters.
To learn more about the excitement that brought this project together, we reached out to Jenna Del Vigna, organizer and designer of the anthology:
How did This is Real: Stories Drawn with Strangers come to fruition?
I am a graphic designer and I work in publishing. During final critique and presentations, I saw the opportunity to bring everyone’s final project into one collection. I really wanted to remember the experience and knew the other artists felt the same way.
What are some of your favorite aspects of the project?
Firstly, meeting all these beautiful and talented people. I love the different points of views and experiences in life ... and in comics. Some people had never drawn before and others had never documented their stories. We were all from different backgrounds in skill and in life but all found common ground in Sarah’s class. It was very warm, affirming and encouraging. A lot of this was directly a result of Sarah’s nurturing. She was thoughtful about reading every assignment submitted and took the time to understand everyone’s story. She encouraged us to push ourselves forward and offered many examples of other memoirists and comics artists to give us inspiration.
Where would you like to take the anthology next?
The main goal was to create a keepsake for the class, but I will be tabling with Sarah at Small Press Expo and all the artists should have copies available for purchase. If someone wants a copy, each contributor can be contacted.
Any last thoughts?
This was truly a special class. I have not had this unique of an experience in any other course. We all really bonded and still keep in touch. We constantly support and encourage each other’s work AND we have meetups when we can.
Follow @thisisreal.comics on Instagram to see where the project is off to next or to get your copy!
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